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Sometime in the fall of 2015, when the Courtyard by Marriott hotel opens in downtown Muncie, the city will have a new downtown restaurant choice. Scott Wise of Scotty's Brewhouse fame plans to open a Thr3e Wise Men restaurant and bar in the hotel.

But what will downtown Muncie's restaurant picture look like by then? Of existing downtown eateries, will all still be in place? Will new ones open in the next year? Will a 150-room hotel generate downtown restaurant traffic beyond its in-house eatery?

If Muncie was lucky, its downtown restaurant picture will be as strong and diverse as that in downtown New Albany, Indiana.

New Albany has something that Muncie doesn't have: Close proximity to a major city. New Albany is right across the Ohio River from Louisville and the flow of traffic — and restaurant goers — certainly benefits New Albany, which has about half Muncie's population.

But downtown New Albany in particular benefits and, in a recent visit, appears to be thriving.

Diverse menu items

Muncie's downtown has lost some favorite restaurants in the past few years with the closing of Taste of Texas, White River Landing and a Walnut Street food court that never quite took off.

There have been new entries to the downtown dining scene, however, including Two Johnny's, Casa del Sol and Barn Brasserie.

New Albany has seen some flux, but during visits to the Louisville area in recent years, I've seen real staying power in downtown restaurants.

Any downtown should have as strong a breakfast spot as Toast on Market, an eatery that focuses on breakfast and lunch, the most important meal of the day and a runner-up.

Toast offers breakfast standards like pancakes and omelets but has some interesting variations that include a bacon-and-egg sandwich and a breakfast Manhattan that consists of pot roast and gravy over buttermilk pancakes.

At the other end of the day's eating schedule, Habana Blues is a popular downtown New Albany restaurant that specializes in tapas, which are Spanish-inspired small plates of food.

Habana Blues, which is about to relocate elsewhere in downtown New Albany, features small plates that aren't all that small. Open since 2010, the restaurant offers an array of meat- or veggie-intensive dishes. My favorite? Spare ribs that melt in your mouth.

They're not chains, but I wish either would open a downtown Muncie outpost.

So what would you like to see in the way of restaurants in downtown Muncie?

It's Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day

If you're a fan of chicken fried steak, today might be your day.

The Iron Skillet at the Petro Travel Center at the Gaston exit along Interstate 69 is celebrating Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day today with a $5.99 special on chicken fried steak.

I know, it seems like less than a year ago when we last celebrated Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. Time flies.

But why are we celebrating Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day in Indiana? Petro and Iron Skillet were founded in El Paso, Texas, in 1975.

And a chicken fried steak, of course, is a hand-cut and hand-breaded cut of beef that's deep fried. Even in the land of breaded tenderloins, a breaded steak is something we can all get behind.

Contact Keith Roysdon at (765) 213-5828 and follow him on Twitter: @keithroysdon